Battre pour L'armour
by TheFirstTrio
Summary: Sometimes, the guy has to go through a lot of work to get the girl because he gave her the wrong message. But the end result is always worth it when something like true love is on the line. (TerraXAqua Valentine's Day AU!)


**BATTRE POUR L'ARMOUR**

 **For all of you who follow my stories, this particular AU has nothing to do with Girl of Steel, which is currently on hold so I can step back, do other ideas brewing in my mind, and take a break from it. For those who aren't following, then no worries!**

 **I hope you all enjoy this Valentine's Day AU. It's TerraXAqua in nature and is pre-BBS. And for all who read this story, Happy Valentine's Day!**

 **I had meant to post this yesterday, but I couldn't get the Docs Manager to work for me properly. I must give credit to my lover, who helped me with the ideas on this story! Thank you so much dearest: you are the other half of me.**

* * *

Love.

' _What is love?'_ That was a question that billions of people on many worlds, from many cultures, and many creeds found themselves asking on a daily basis. Philosophers debated vigorously with one another about what love was; others, darkened in heart, raged against the emotion of love, calling it weak and useless in a dog eat dog universe. Others still took a more leisurely approach to the question, saying love came in many forms. From motherly love to true love and everything in-between, love existed to these people. It was everywhere, if you looked enough and observed.

So Terra found himself baffled, stupefied even, when he had the question asked to him from a rather unexpected corner. And worse still, it was at an unexpected time. When the Master was done training them for the day, Terra usually practiced off the normal training hours to better himself. All the students did this—Terra usually picked the wind swept, grassy plateau that was both a gathering place and training grounds.

"Terra, what is love?" a soft voice asked, causing the strongly built brunette to be snapped from his concentration. No longer was he focused on striking the golden rings, which now spun lazily in the air. The mountain plateau training grounds had become quite silent since the aforementioned question had been proposed to Terra.

Catching his breath, Terra turned slowly to the female voice, spotting an all-too familiar bluenette with her legs crossed, right over left, looking at him rather expectantly from her perch on the stone bench. She, too, had been out here training, judging from the flushed skin and sweat drying on her brow, but how long had she been sitting there, inspecting him with critical blue eyes?

The earthen Keyblade bearer rather smartly replied, "What?"

Immediately, a mental facepalm. _'Real smooth, Terra. Really smooth sounding,'_ Terra mentally growled at himself as Aqua frowned slightly. Uncrossing her legs, Aqua stood up, Terra's cobalt eyes taking in her slender form as she said, "Don't worry Terra. I was just wondering what your thoughts where. I didn't mean to bother you…"

Terra was pretty certain he heard trace amounts of disappointment in her voice, so he scrambled to rectify the situation. Quickly— _too quickly_ , Aqua noted with a small smile—Terra cleared his throat and answered. "Love…I would call love caring so much about a person that you'd do anything to protect them and see them smile."

Aqua smiled at the brunette, who seemed to be quite proud of his answer, judging by the smirk now etched across his lips. Strolling over to Terra, Aqua chuckled as she replied, "That's a deep answer, Terra. I'm really quite impressed." When Terra wasn't trying to act like a tough guy, he was really quite sweet and endearing, something she wished he'd show more often because she loved when she bore witness to that soft, gentle side of the rock. Maybe that's what turned her feelings of friendship into something _more._

She just wished she had the courage to express those feelings…

Unaware of Aqua's thoughts and not losing his confident grin, Terra responded, "What do you think love is Aqua?" He really wanted to know what she felt about the matter. Hell, Terra simply enjoyed talking to Aqua and being around her. She was the person he knew he could let his guard down around and show his vulnerable side. That she wouldn't hurt him on purpose, ever.

His feelings were safe within her hands.

' _Now isn't the time to blush, Terra,'_ Terra chided himself, missing the fact that Aqua now had a thoughtful expression on her face, stroking her chin with her left index finger. She had come to a halt roughly an arm's length distance from him, making them quite close to one another. Such was their level of comfort around one another now; space wasn't an issue, although this hadn't been the case when they'd first met.

Master Eraqus had been exasperated by their stubbornness with one another and desire to one up each other, to say the least.

' _I know_ _ **one**_ _form of love, but…it's not gonna happen,'_ Aqua thought as a twinge of hurt pulsed in her chest. It was a constricting feeling that soon faded away under the mask of focus on Aqua's face. The young woman pressed onward with forming her answer, despite the fact this question was not so easily answered for Aqua.

As Aqua mulled her thoughts over in her mind, it was now her turn to be unaware that she was being carefully inspected by the man in front of her. His eyes traveled up her legs, looking at the silky skin that was bare between her long stockings and shorts, before making a lasting stop at her hips— _By Kingdom Hearts, they were heavenly!_ —and then up. Her toned midsection, her plump chest constricted by those pink straps, her slender neck. Her stunning eyes full of emotion and delicious lips. Everything about her—mind, body, soul, strengths, and flaws—was so right to him.

Becoming lost in thought, Terra had long realized that he cared about Aqua in a way that couldn't be called friendship. When his feelings had evolved, he wasn't sure, but they had. Sure, he cared about his Master like a father and Ventus—Ven, as they called him—as a little brother. But compared to what he felt for Aqua, it was like comparing a lake to an ocean. There was no comparison.

"Terra!?"

Boy, did Terra nearly come out of his skin. In fact, Aqua was sure that Terra had come at least a foot off the ground. His eyes darted around rapidly before settling back on Aqua, expression darkened some. Aqua only smiled wider at Terra's reaction, causing an equivalent increase in Terra's scowl.

"Are you tryin' to give me a heart attack?" Terra asked hastily in an aggressive tone he didn't mean to have. It was just too easy to get snappy when someone made him jump like that.

Aqua, instead of getting snappy in response to Terra's aggressive retort, merely covered her mouth, unable to repress the giggle that now passed over her lips. After she got control of her giggling, which almost started all over again when she saw Terra's scowl/pout face, she said, "I've been saying I've been ready to answer, but you zoned out. I've been calling you for at least a minute now."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. I have my answer if you'd like to hear it."

A nod from the spiky haired male was all Aqua needed to see. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding; after completing this action, she spoke.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn't envy, nor does it boast, and it's not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love doesn't delight in evil but rejoices with truth…"

Aqua paused, checking on Terra. Seeing he was fully entrapped by her words, Aqua continued with a smile. This smile wasn't playful, nor was it cocky. It was warm and loving.

"It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love _never_ fails, Terra."

As always, Aqua had completely floored Terra with her response. How was she able to so effortlessly come up with such deep, powerful answers? It made Terra's answer seem like it was thought up by a small child, but Terra just didn't care anymore about that. Once upon a time, he would have been annoyed with the 'bookworm,' but now, he was in awe of her. Her answer had been so thoughtful, affectionate, and flowed into Terra's mind with the gentle speed of honey. And Terra had noticed as she spoke how much her answer, to which she hadn't intended, was so much like her. So, in but a few words, Terra made Aqua's heart skip a few beats and took her breath away.

"Huh. So love is just like you."

Aqua was feeling rather warm suddenly, her entire body heating up in a second. Her voice and mannerisms became shy and timid, her hand going over her chest as she looked away from Terra. She managed to breathlessly say, in a low tone, "Terra…t-that's re-really sweet of you."

Maybe this was it. Maybe he was going to see she like him a lot and make a move. Or maybe, she could build up enough courage right now to tell him those three magical words.

However, fate had elected this blip in time was not to be her magical moment.

All the signs—her question, her action, the sudden timid tone and shyness—that Aqua wanted to desperate be with him and for him to acknowledge her feelings was lost on the dense male. He didn't even realize he had lost his opportunity to express his love when he said, with concern, "Are you ok, Aqua? You look really flushed…"

Aqua felt like she had received a swift kick to her gut. She was quiet for a moment as she swiftly turned away from the source of the pain that chewed deeply into her heart, head tilted down at the ground, replying evenly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Totally." The bitterness and hurt that resonated in her chest commanded her to get away from Terra, to not cry in front of him. It was plain he had no desire for her or never had feelings for her if he hadn't even react to all her signs.

Without even looking back at Terra, Aqua said, "I'll see you around Terra. I'm going to clean up." Soon, her feet where moving as she departed the training grounds, unaware he had reached out for her as he looked at her back. She moved over the lush grass silently as tears formed at the corner of her eyes, frame quivering for a moment. Aqua passed over the small bridge before she rapidly disappeared from Terra's sight.

Terra was confused at the hasty departure of his crush, giving no chase, although he did want to follow her and figure out what had just happened. What did she mean by clean up? They hadn't been training solo out here for more than two hours; was it dinner already?

No, that couldn't be it. She had been pretty upset, if her quick change in attitude and lighting fast departure had been any indication. Terra crossed his arms as he thought about everything that had just happened. Why was the bluenette asking odd questions and behaving so strangely?

Terra frowned before the light bulb snapped on and then exploded, a mixed look of realization and horror making its way onto the his face. The question, the shyness, the odd behavior had all been signs pointing plainly to _one_ thing: Aqua wanted to be with him. She loved him. And Terra, stupid him, had just blown the first natural opening for them to become one.

" _AWW, FUUUUUCCCCCKKKK!"_

The F-bomb Terra had just dropped to vocalize his intense rage at his own blindness and the fact he had hurt Aqua so much unintentionally echoed through the training grounds. Terra was breathing heavily, his hands balled tightly into fists, eyes closed as he slumped over now.

Coming to a fully erect position, Terra rubbed both of his temples with his hands out of frustration, mumbling to himself, "Aqua must think I'm such a jerkwad right now. How could I be so dense?" Flopping down into an Indian Style sitting position, Terra pinched the bridge of his nose while letting out a long sigh. Disappointment was creeping into Terra's mind, mocking him at this juncture. How the Hell was he going to recover from this mess?

' _Flowers? Now that's not gonna work. That's like offering a Band-Aid for a wound that needs stitches…'_ Terra thought as he started to rapidly run through his options. Aqua did love flowers, however. White roses, if the brunette remembered correctly, so he didn't rule the flowers out yet. Maybe he could use them in conjunction with something else?

By then, Terra was calling on everything he had heard in the Master's lectures and classes. He needed to make use of everything he had learned in his life. Recalling today's date and those lectures brought to Terra's mind a very important fact: it was the month of February. And in this month, three days from now, a very important day was coming up.

The brunette suddenly had a way to fix this. He didn't have much time, nor would be conducting such a huge operation be easy to head from the ever observant Aqua, but Terra didn't care at all. Training would eat up his time, but Terra still didn't care.

Standing, Terra once again had a smile of confidence on his face. On Valentine's Day, Terra was going to make Aqua the happiest woman in the universe.

With his heart set on his goal, Terra rushed back to the castle with all due haste. Because tomorrow was going to be the start of a new life for himself—and, hopefully, Aqua.

* * *

 _ **FEBRUARY 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, DAY ONE**_

Terra was not one for mornings. To say he was a morning person was like saying oil and water mixed. Out of the trio of students at Land of Departure, Terra was always the last to rise, usually requiring someone to come and check on the man. The normal progression of things was Aqua and Master Eraqus, followed by Ventus, and then finally Terra.

However, in order to best maximize time, Terra got up much earlier than usual. Dressed in an fresh attire, Terra was feeling oddly good for being up before the sun cast its warmth over the land and the bird began to sing their passionate songs for all to enjoy.

But he could definitely see why Master Eraqus enjoyed a good cup of brew in the morning. He was enjoying it himself, although his had cream in it unlike the Master's. Sitting down at the breakfast bar of the kitchen, Terra felt the chair groan under his weight before he took a swig of his coffee, enjoying the warmth and aroma of the coffee. The Land of Departure's kitchen was well-equipped for the preparation and cooking of food, loaded with stainless steel appliances like a French door refrigerator, a pair of double ovens, a large restaurant style stove top, three sinks, and breakfast bar with four seats. There was also an island in the center of the kitchen that had a griddle on it.

Opening a notebook on the granite surface, Terra placed his cup on the bar. Tapping his pen against the surface of the blank paper, Terra began to think on what his plans would be. There were timelines that needed to be met, methods to concoct to accomplish his goals, and creativity to be born.

One thing that came to mind was Aqua was lovely in her normal attire. What about getting her a dress to wear? Smirking at what he could get her, Terra settled down on getting Aqua a sleeveless scoop neck high low dress that was a pale pink in color. Writing down the details of what he wanted, Terra even knew Aqua's measurements. Not because he was a pervert and eyeballed her so much (although he _did_ eyeball her a lot), but because Aqua had explained how woman's sizes worked—using herself as an example.

He was quite happy he paid attention to her on that matter.

"I'll have to order the dress after training today," Terra mused very briefly out loud before he went back to writing.

He turned the flower idea into something much more in-depth, but it was going to require some gardening work and magic. The magic was the part that terrified Terra, as normally, he asked for Aqua's help on understand spells. This time, he wasn't going to have that option available to him, so he was going to have to pray he didn't blow himself up.

Some more ideas went down on the notebook as Terra started to get on a roll. Some chemistry, something he enjoyed a lot actually, for making candles that burned different colors, which would then go into lamps—particularly the lamps that lead up to the upper training grounds at the mountains. Ideas flowed from Terra's mind in rapid succession and soon, the notebook was filled with notes, some doodles, marked out ideas he disliked. Terra was so engrossed into what he was writing that he had no idea that someone was in the kitchen with him.

The sudden clang of a pot caused Terra to jump and yell quite loudly, "Son of a…!" Coupled with the yell of surprised, Terra knocked over his coffee, the mug tipping over as Terra's arm smacked into it. The mug rolled off the bar and onto the floor, shattering loudly and spraying all over the floor, mixing with the coffee running off the bar and into the floor.

Thankfully, his notebook was safe. Thank Kingdom Hearts!

Now on his feet, Terra looked to the source of the noise: Aqua, getting ready to cook breakfast. Terra paled immediately at the sight of the clearly pissed Aqua, not worried about if she had seen what he was doing. No, she was clearly mad with him about yesterday. Terra opened his mouth to speak, but Aqua cut him off.

"You're cleaning that mess up, Terra," Aqua said without even looking at the brunette, angrily working to whip up a delicious breakfast. The anger dripped off her words as thick as molasses as pots clanged against other objects loudly. Even her ingredients were treated much more roughly than usual as she cracked eggs for omelets, got out flour for waffles, and fruit was tossed onto the countertop. Vegetables received a much worse treatment, being sliced into bits in a blink of an eye.

Ok, she wasn't mad: she was absolutely pissed beyond words. Terra was quick to nod his head up and down rapidly rather than speak to her. That might cause her to explode and then he'd be too far up the creek without a paddle to escape the mess he had made.

Terra cleaned his mess and was gone in a flash with his notebook.

Letting out a breath, Aqua slumped once Terra was gone. She didn't mean to lash out at him like that and it made her feel so terrible. But he had hurt her so much and now she was afraid to even talk to him about why she was acting so nasty to him. So it caused her to lash out even more in a vicious cycle.

She was an emotional mess.

Groaning in frustration, Aqua diced up some onions to go with the green bell peppers she had already diced out of anger. The knife clicked against the wooden cutting board she was so fond off as fat, ripe onions were reduced into small bits, perfect for belly filling omelets. These went into the bowl containing the eggs that had already been whipped up, followed by Aqua getting out some mushrooms. As she got the mushrooms out of the refrigerator, she closed the door with a bit more force than she meant, making a rather loud bang.

Heading back to her knife and cutting board, Aqua jumped when an aged, amused voice chided her, "I do believe I've explained the dangers of handling blades while upset, Aqua."

Turning to the entrance that Terra had exited from, Aqua's blue eyes landed on the amused form of Master Eraqus. The aged Master with black hair pulled back into a ponytail had come to get a cup of coffee when Terra had rushed past him in a hurry. It was highly unusual for Terra to be even awake this early in the morning. So when Master Eraqus arrived at the kitchen and found a very perturbed Aqua trying to cook, he couldn't help but to smile.

His smile evaporated when Aqua came unglued, an expression of concern quickly replacing it.

"I'm sorry, Master Eraqus, but I'm just so pissed with Terra! We were having a good conversation about what love was and he just…just blew it!" Aqua began to ramble as she stomped her foot almost childishly. Her hands had become tight fists as she continued her rant at the patient Master Eraqus. "I wanted him to understand; I gave him all the signs, all the right moves, about what I felt! I wanted him to know I love him so much, but he's just so damn blind to things! I made it so obvious and all he did was hurt me so much! Why can't he see I love everything about him to the point he drives me _crazy!"_

As she continued to unload her anger to the Master, she began to say things she would soon come to regret in a few moments. "I love those abs you could grin meat on! I love his husky voice, his silky hair, his muscular frame, his deep eyes I get lost in! I love the way he makes me smile, the way he opens up to me, and treats me like I'm his best friend!"

Master Eraqus was now sporting a combination of looks: uncertainty, amusement, embarrassment, and even understanding. He knew what it meant to really love someone so much and for them to be completely obvious to it. Terra was not known to be very observant in matters of the heart, despite his strong dedication of justice and the desire to help others.

By now, Aqua had realized to whom she was saying these _things_ to, making her sputter a few times, followed by her face turning a bright red. Covering her mouth with one hand, she groaned again, feeling her stomach do so many flips she felt like she was going to vomit. She had just completely humiliated herself in front of her Master! She was acting like a schoolgirl and she felt tears dotting her eyes as a result. She did her best to fight back the tidal wave of emotions. She was _not_ going to add crying to the list of stupid things she did today!

' _Stupid emotions! Stop making me act so stupid!'_ Aqua thought as the Master folded his arms behind his back and let out a sigh. Much to Aqua's surprise, the Master, rather than chide her for seeking companionship in a fellow student, merely said, "It is better for you to get the frustration out of your mind, Aqua. It must hurt to have Terra so unknowingly hurt your feelings…it's something I have experience before."

Aqua uncovered her mouth, timidly asking, "You're not angry for me…um…liking Terra?"

"Good Heavens no Aqua. Do I like a tyrant to you?"

"No, Master."

"This is quite excellent news for me then," Master Eraqus said with a wiry smile as Aqua flushed once again. This was still awkward for her, but the Master could see she was getting more comfortable about taking to him about her feelings. "Aqua, it's only natural that you come to realize your feelings for someone you love rather than bottle them up. If you never expressed your feelings to Terra, then you would regret it later."

"Master…" Aqua said with a soft voice before she looked at him finally, the rosy color slowly receding from her cheeks. "I'm afraid to tell him. What if he rejects me?"

"You could live wondering or you could live knowing. I believe, Aqua, you'd be much happier knowing than wondering."

Aqua processed what the Master has said as the aged man walked over to the coffee maker, picking a mug out of the cabinet above the machine, followed by pouring himself a cup. Dark fluid filled the Master's cup, steam rising from the drink. Taking an experimental sip, Master Eraqus beam some, remarking, "I must confess I am surprised. Terra can actually brew coffee and not make it taste burnt."

Aqua managed to giggle at the remark from the Master, feeling in a better mood already. As the Master departed, however, he said one more thing that really sealed the deal for Aqua.

"I must also note today is 'Magic Day,' as you coined it."

Aqua felt a deadly smile come to her face. It _was_ Magic Day, her absolute favorite day of training, shamelessly so.

"You're right. Thank you Master."

And with that note, Aqua went back to making breakfast in a far more cheerful mood.

* * *

Terra was in pain.

Terra was in _so_ much pain right now.

Why was Terra a living ball of agony right now? It was mostly because Aqua had thoroughly trashed him today during training. He should have been worried when he saw that dangerous, predatory smile on her face.

Many would complain about 'Leg Day,' something that left most sore and stiff. Terra could safely say that 'Magic Day' was so much worse. Terra could barely walked back to his room. Everyone had been completely horrified at the sheer level of magic Aqua had displayed today during training.

Terra didn't even _know_ things like Triple Firaga, Thundaga Shot, or Triple Blizzaga existed until Aqua felt the need to use them on him like a living target. She never let up on him as he tried desperately to close the distance to her, something he could normally do. However, today, she had only let him get close once and even that had ended poorly.

She had slugged him so hard in the face with her bare fist that she had taken the earthen Keyblade bearer off his feet. That was promptly followed up with a Thundaga, leaving him twitching and smoking on the ground.

"Note to self…never pissed Aqua off before Magic Day," Terra groaned to himself as he had excused himself early from training, both to buy himself time and also to escape the merciless pummeling that Aqua had been providing him all day. He didn't miss the terrified look on poor Ventus's face as he realized he was up against Aqua now that Terra had left the scene.

Upon reaching his room, Terra opened the door, right arm protesting angrily at the mere action of raising up to grab the knob and turning it. The door creaked open slowly as Terra slipped inside, the door closing on its own. Rather than take the time to clean up, Terra immediate went into action—slowly, but the action as certainly there! Mail would be heading out soon and there was a seamstress close by in the village roughly six miles away. If he hurried, he could get the order for the dress out now and have it back by the thirteenth, tomorrow at the earliest. Plus, the mail had the other thing Terra needed—newspapers and newspaper ads.

Terra was quick to get his large envelope together, with an extra amount of munny in order to make the seamstress hurry. Ensuring he had everything together, Terra moved as fast as his damaged body would allow him, departing his room and heading down the hallway. He could hear the sounds of battle in the distance—but not of Aqua and Ventus, but of Aqua and the Master. That was good—everyone was still training.

' _The Master can handle Aqua…I think,'_ Terra thought as he reached the final set of stairs before the main entrance of the castle. So far, everything had been good, but he sure was in a lot of pain still. If he didn't have the training secession covering him, he wouldn't be able to make it without someone seeing him.

And hopefully, Aqua was still mad enough at him that she wouldn't make a beeline to locate Terra and ensure he rested and was healing.

Pushing the heavy door open with much greater strain than usual, Terra headed down the long flight of stairs, spotting the mailman arriving at a leisurely pace. The young man clearly didn't have any sense of urgency, which was going to be a problem. If he was this slow moving normally, Terra would never accomplish his mission!

Good thing for Terra he had a lot of spare munny. Once he reached the young man, Terra handed him the bulky envelope, going, "Hey kid…I know you likely don't enjoy this, but this package is really urgent. It needs to go to the seamstress in town immediately."

"Pft," the blonde haired kid said as he took the package before grumbling, "You know, everyone says his or her shit's important. It'll get there when it gets there."

"How much to you get paid a day?"

The kid seemed caught off-guard by this question. Blinking a few times, he eventually replied, "50 munny a day, why?"

"Here's 1,000 then. If you don't get that package to that seamstress and bring the return order back marked ' _For Terra'_ by the 13th of this month, then you better hide, 'cuz I'm coming to find you. Got it?"

The blonde's eyes nearly bugged out his head as Terra gave him the 1,000 munny, looking at the massive amount with complete shock. However, the biggest smile came to his face afterwards, the youth politely and wisely ignoring the dangerous tone in Terra's voice at the end of his sentence. "Huh, yes sir! I won't fail you, sir!"

After hurriedly giving Terra the ridiculous stack of newspaper and newspaper ads—did the Master really read all of this stuff!?—the young kid was gone in a flash, like he was being chased by a lion. Terra was pleased with the results of his handiwork, which if the Master had seen this transaction, he might be scolding Terra for bribing for the better services. In any other case, Terra would agree, but this was for _Aqua._ Some compromises had to be made in one's character. Large stack of papers in hand, Terra began his return trip.

Of course, once he reached the top, he was inwardly cursing both stairs and Aqua's damn magic. Seriously, who the Hell designed this place with so many stairs at the entrance!? His legs felt like Jell-O…

Once Terra was back inside the castle and had finished mumbling all manner of curse words about his pain, stairs, and Aqua's magical prowess, he was quick to head back to his room. This trip should have been as effortless as the one down here, but when Terra didn't hear the distance sounds of battle, he began to get worried. Correspondingly, he did his best to pick up the pace.

He was almost on the home stretch, but as he rounded the corner of the hall that would eventually lead him to the hall his room was on, he spotted Aqua at his door, calling out his name. He came to a halt in a hurry, scrambling to backpedal. He just barely disappeared back down the hall he had been rushing down when Aqua looked over, her right eyebrow arching up.

Aqua stared down the empty hall to her right, feeling like she had just heard something. The bluenette wringed her hands some as she contemplated about going to investigate before she instead passed the feeling off as a trick of her mind. Looking back to Terra's door, Aqua knocked a bit harder this time, going, "Terra? Are you there?"

No reply.

Aqua sighed a bit. If he was there, there was a good chance he was a tad angry with her with how much she had thrashed him during training. "If you're there, I'm really sorry about earlier this morning. And for hitting you with all that magic, too. When you cool off, I'd…really appreciate it if we could talk."

Still there was silence, which Aqua didn't take offense to. She leaned forward, placing her hand on the door and her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment. A rush of feelings bubbled in the back of her throat before she pulled away.

No, she wasn't ready.

Not like this. She wasn't going to confess like this.

Aqua turned to leave, looking at the door a final time before she left. As soon as she was gone, Terra peaked around the corner, catching a glimpse of Aqua's back and behind before she rounded the corner of the hall, disappearing completely from Terra's vision. She had really felt bad about what she had done; he had wanted to expose himself and tell her everything was ok, but he couldn't risk that, much to his disappointment. Hearing how sad she sounded hurt.

Terra expelled a breath as he said, "That…was way too close."

"I would agree with such a statement, Terra."

Terra dropped all the papers he was holding before he growled in frustration. Seriously, what was will all the jumpscares lately!? He was pretty sure it wasn't Halloween yet. Turning around, Terra knew who the voice belonged to. Coming face to face with Master Eraqus, Terra was quick to bow respectfully, going, "Master."

Master Eraqus eyeballed all of the newspapers and ads scattered around on the ground behind Terra, a knowing grin coming to the experienced Master's face. With a chuckle, the Master mentioned, "A clever method to create notes for Aqua, Terra." This was the bait to get Terra to spill the beans, although he had a sneaking feeling he knew that Terra was engaging in some creative planning.

All for one person. Or, should he say, for one woman.

Terra recoiled in shock. How did the Master know? Quickly, Terra looked back at the papers before feeling defeated. Resigning himself to his fate, that Master was going to add to the pain of the day, Terra eventually replied, "Yes, Master. I was…going to make notes for Aqua since I sort of hurt her yesterday. I wanted to make her feel better."

"Terra, there's no reason to be shy. I believe you're trying to, how should I say…court Aqua."

Terra's eyes widened. "How did you know…?"

"If I didn't know before, I certainly do now. Aside from that, you don't read newspapers Terra, so you can't use that excuse," Master Eraqus responded to Terra's inquiry, making the brunette realize the Master had gotten him hook, line, and sinker. Terra waited for the Master to crush his hopes of telling Aqua how he felt, but instead the Master shocked him further.

"Terra, the willpower of a man can be measured in the width of the smile on the woman next to him. I can see you love Aqua very much, so much that you're even willing to sacrifice your training to show her you care."

Terra was far too shocked by the Master's words to even interrupt the man as he spoke calmly to Terra about what he was doing. Was the Master encouraging him to go for Aqua?

"I will suspend training for the holiday; I'd advise you use the time wisely to rest," Master Eraqus said with a smirk before he began to walk past Terra, smoothly so as Terra stood there with a dumbfounded expression. What in the Hell had just happened here?

' _A green light, you dumbass!'_ Terra thought immediately as it all clicked.

Quickly, Terra pivoted around and bowed, expressing his gratitude at the Master's encouragement and giving him all the time he needed. "Thank you so much, Master!" Terra exclaimed happily.

"There's no need to thank me, Terra. You have all been working so hard lately. However, if you do wish for any assistance on this matter, I can certainly provide some help," came the oddly cheerful response as the Master continued to head down the hallway.

Terra grinned at this. Today had gone from being the most painful to the best day in Terra's life. Now, he was certain he could do this!

Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

* * *

 _ **FEBRUARY 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, DAY TWO**_

Ventus was really quite surprised today when Master Eraqus had cancelled training for the next four days. He said it was for in celebration of the holiday, Valentine's Day. He had said to his students that this day was important to Keyblade bearers because it was a holiday about the heart. Ventus wasn't really sure he fully understood what the Master meant, but he was happy he and everyone else were going to get a break.

However, Terra had departed swiftly, leaving Aqua alone with Ventus. She had tried to stop him, but he had insisted that he had something he was working on. Aqua had then tried to offer to help, but when Terra mentioned chemistry, she had declined his agreement to her help.

Terra had departed shortly after, Aqua huffing some. That had left Ventus and Aqua in the kitchen, the blonde puzzled over how Terra was acting.

"Aqua, why are you grumbling about chemistry?" Ventus ventured to ask the blue haired mage. The woman looked over at Ventus and sighed a bit.

"I just don't like it. It was one of those subjects I didn't do that well in," Aqua admitted sheepishly to Ventus. Ventus was actually surprised at her response. Aqua not liking something that involved numbers or books? That was completely unheard of to the energetic Ventus!

"The world's comin' to an end! Aqua, not liking a book related subject!" Ventus teased to the bluenette, who pursed her lips and replied, "Terra is better at making things with chemistry than me…"

"WHAT," Ventus exclaimed with mock horror. "You're not Aqua: you're admitting _The Rock_ is better than you at something!"

Aqua frowned at this declaration from her friend. So what if she could admit that Terra was better than her at something? She wasn't that competitive with him anymore, was she? Crossing her arms, Aqua said, "I can let him do the cooking for a day."

"Nononononono! That's a bad idea, like offering sugar to me!"

"I thought you'd see my reason," Aqua replied with a smug expression, smirking at the now pale Ventus. At no point, in Aqua or Ventus's opinion, should Terra be allowed near cooking appliances. The resulting products could be use as biological agents between warring nations. That or they were against the Geneva Convention.

Ventus wisely went for a topic change at this point, asking a question that was bothering him greatly.

"Uh, Aqua…just what _is_ Valentine's Day? Is it normal for the Master to give us so much down time? I mean…" Ventus asked Aqua, feeling rather embarrassed he didn't know what the day was. He still had so much to learn after waking up after the training accident with Xehanort. He had forgotten so much…

Aqua blinked before it clicked immediately. Her expression softened considerably as she leaned over and stroked Ventus's hair gently. She didn't want to make him feel any worse than he already did because he didn't know something that was practically common knowledge for most.

"Well, Ventus…Valentine's Day is celebrated in many cultures around the universe. It's a day for people who love one another to express it via cards, small gifts, and chocolate," Aqua began to explain to Ventus, who perked considerably as Aqua spoke. "For us, it's the holiday of the heart in the sense of the word." There was a pause, however, as Aqua had noticed the rather sudden announcement of off-time. Normally, the Master gave them the 12th, 13th, and 14th off, but not the 15th. Aqua hadn't missed this extra day. "Normally, the Master gives as three days off, rather than four…maybe he was feeling generous?"

The energetic boy assumed that Master Eraqus was just being generous, which was great for Ventus. It was give him plenty of time to learn all about this particular holiday! Ventus smiled at Aqua, replying, "That sounds really nice! Can we make chocolates for one another? You know, like give stuff to the Master, Terra, you, and me?"

Aqua couldn't help but to enjoy the childish happiness that Ventus seemed to have. He was so innocent and sweet; it just made her heart melt. And she just didn't have the willpower to deny Ventus at this moment; even if she did, she certainly wouldn't. "Of course, Ven. We can make chocolate covered strawberries and some chocolate chip cookies," Aqua offered to the blonde, who rather enthusiastically agreed with her offering.

"Well, let's get started!" Ventus said, pulling Aqua along and over to the ovens by the right hand.

Aqua merely smiled as she was tugged along. She really enjoyed spending time with Ventus…

But deep down, she really wanted to be with Terra.

* * *

 _ **Later That Day…**_

It had taken a considerably amount of willpower for Terra to stay focused on the task of creating candles for his plan. The aroma of delicious sweets was nearly enough to completely destroy his concentration, but Terra had just barely managed to complete all the candles he needed. Aqua was an ever-present distraction, even if she didn't really mean to be. No doubt she was making her tradition batches of sweets for Valentine's Day, with Ventus's help.

Terra smiled as he inspected his work while thinking about Ventus. He was a really innocent, sweet kid that both he and Aqua cared so much about. Honestly, he was glad he was here with then versus Master Xehanort. Something about that guy was creepy. Aqua wasn't very fond of the bald man, as Terra learned, if her comments about 'Creepernort' was any indication.

Terra shuddered. No thanks. He wasn't going to stay at this station any longer. Moving on with his train of thought, Terra quickly went over his list.

"Well, the candles are done," Terra concluded as he went to wash his hands clean of any sort of residues. He didn't want to ingest any of the chemicals he had been working with when he ate, least he get violently ill. Warm water and soap covered Terra's hands as he rubbed them together, cleaning off anything on his hands that didn't belong there.

It had been tiring work, but Terra had gotten a good night's sleep. Plus, the pain from yesterday's punishing defeats had disappeared, leaving him running at full steam today. He was full of confidence, strongly believing everything was on track. And with the bottomless well that was Terra's determination, how could he possibly fail, right?

"I better go and check the mail…" Terra mused, not really expecting the dress to be here, but he knew that airing on the side of caution was much wiser than not checking. If Aqua saw the dress, she would start nosing around and he couldn't not have a suspicious Aqua hounding him.

Departing his room, it wasn't long before Terra found himself at the entrance of the castle. However, what he saw was not a good thing. Terra's grin melted into an expression of anger when he saw Ventus inspected a cardboard box. The dress was here, alright, but it was in the wrong hands!

If Ventus saw what was inside of that box, Terra was screwed seven ways from Sunday. He couldn't keep a secret, no matter how much he promised he could. Ven seeing the box alone could give Aqua enough ammunition she needed to have her suspicions raised. Terra couldn't allow that to happen!

Quickly, Terra rushed over to Ventus and the box, going, "Ven!"

Ventus jumped in surprise at Terra's voice, looking at brunette and the stormy clouds of anger on his face. Looking down at the cardboard box in his arms, Ventus smiled weakly and said, "Uh…I didn't open it."

"You better haven't or I swear, I'm going to give you a lesson with Ars Solum!" Terra quickly threatened to the blonde, who rather meekly withdrew in on himself. Terra was scary when he wanted to be!

"I w-was just looking to s-see who it was for! Honest!" Ventus stuttered as Terra glared at him heatedly. Whatever in this box must be pretty important for Terra to be ready to summon his Keyblade on Ventus!

"If you saw my name, then you could have just put it down," Terra growled as he took a few steps closer to Ventus in preparation to retrieve the dangerous goods from Ventus (dangerous at least in the blonde's hands, anyways!)

A voice cut in before Terra could act any further or Ventus could reply.

"What are you two doing?"

Terra's teeth gritted heavily. This situation had gone from bad too much worse in the blink of an eye. Glancing behind him, Terra was wishing greatly that Aqua wasn't standing behind him, her hands on her hips, clearly very displeased with how Terra was treating Ventus.

"Oh, hey Aqua. How's the weather?" Terra asked the mage, whose scowl only seemed to deepen. Clearly, that wasn't the right thing to say to the bluenette that now had a fiery aura around her, Terra swore. Truly, it didn't fit her face, but Terra wasn't about to mention that right now.

"Don't play games. Why are you threatening Ven?" Aqua questioned to the much bulkier male that seemed to be leering over tiny Ventus like a phantom. Terra cringed, not sure what to do here just yet. He rubbed the back of his head as Aqua's stare bore into him with the intensity of a thousand suns.

Ventus, rather than get caught in the crossfire between Aqua and Terra, put down the box and quickly withdrew. He rushed around Terra and past Aqua, heading up the stairs to relative safety. Aqua eyes widened at Ventus's sudden departure before she frowned deeply again, turning her attention to Terra, crossing her arms.

"Well?"

Terra had one chance to throw Aqua off, but he doubted this was going to work. Scowling, Terra crossed his arms and spoke. "Well…he was trying to look in the box. But it's my pants, so…"

Aqua wrinkled her brow in confusion. Why in the world was Terra getting defensive about his pants? Aqua could think of a million of things to be defensive over before a box of pants he wore every single day. There was no way she was even going to begin to question Terra's defensive stance over a box of _pants._ That was just too strange for her. She pinched her nose and elected to let this one go. "…why are my boys acting so weird lately…" Aqua grumbled before she shook her head a bit.

"You know you wouldn't have it any other way, Aqua," Terra offered with a smirk, making Aqua huff some. Turning away, the bluenette responded, "You're lucky I'm letting you off the hook Terra."

"Thanks. It means a lot to me," Terra replied, as he really meant those words in a way Aqua could only understand later. He had been praying to any God that was listening that he was actually going to get out this one in one piece. It was time to exit, stage right.

As Terra turned to grab the oddly long box, Aqua watched him silently. Once again, another moment with just her and Terra was taken from them, consumed by other things.

' _No, you're lucky I'm too scared to grab you and kiss you, damn it,'_ Aqua thought dejectedly as Terra chuckled at her expense, quickly departing back to his room, box in hand. Unknowingly to her, he was beyond relieved that he had managed to escape this situation with his plan intact. As he also withdrew, Aqua turned to watch him, a longing in her eyes that Terra didn't see.

Once again alone, Aqua grabbed at the sides of her head in frustration as she asked no one in particular, "Why can't I do this? I'm training to face unnatural horrors, face death on a daily basis, and I can use magic, but I can't even gather the courage to tell him…"

Aqua trailed off softly, hands dropping down to her sides limply. Eventually, the young woman continued, heart throbbing as her voice cracking, those three magical words coming from her throat hoarsely, "I love you…"

Tomorrow was another day, of course.

* * *

 _ **FEBRUARY 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **, DAY THREE**_

After yesterday's close call, Terra had to be more careful than ever now that he was on the home stretch. If he messed up today, then that was it: everything he had worked for would be for naught.

Sadly, today was also the one fraught with the greatest danger. He was going use magic, not for battle related purposes, but for multiplication purposes. He had never done something like this before; worse, he couldn't even really ask for the Master's help on this. While the Master was a good magic user, Aqua was leagues beyond him. Her hunger for magic was never sated, it seemed.

Terra had come to find it quite interesting that while Aqua and him had so many similarities, they had plenty of startling differences. Both of them had a hefty amount of endurance, but Terra was far more physical, with limited big bursts of magic. Aqua used magic heavily, with sudden bursts of heavy-handed physical attacks. He was not graceful, hitting hard and fast with his blows, sporting an aggressive stance. Aqua was smooth, relaxed, and seemed to flow in battle.

Both had scarily similar tempers and stubborn streaks though. Terra could only smirk at this fact as he finished cleaning up for the day, a shower having refreshed the man for the day.

Departing his room, Terra paused outside of the wooden door for a moment. _'I better lock my door with my Keyblade as an extra precaution'_ Terra thought wisely, summoning Ends of the Earth with a flash of digital light. Pointing it at his door, a thin beam of light burst forth from the tip of his weapon, striking it and covering it completely. As the door turned white briefly, an image of a keyhole appeared on the door, couple with a locking noise. The light then faded away, leaving drifting, dying embers of white in the air.

Soon, that too faded.

"Alright…breakfast and then the garden," Terra said with a nodded, dismissing his weapon right away before turning right and heading back the hallway. Already, his nose was being tickled by the smells of sausage, bacon, biscuits, and other goodies that Aqua was creating. Honestly, she never seemed to follow any instructions when it came to cooking or baking. She just did things and it came out great.

"She must have baking and cooking in her genetic makeup…it's just unnatural she's so good at it," Terra said to himself as he reached the kitchen. He spotted Aqua at work, humming as she went about her culinary magic. It was clear he was the second one here today, as there was a single plate and coffee mug in the sink.

If there was one thing Terra was allowed to do in the kitchen, it was clean. Everyone here was fully capable—and quite skilled, actually—at making this kitchen so clean you could eat off of the floors. However, Terra had always done the cleaning in the kitchen because he didn't want to make Aqua both clean and cook. It sounded so…sexist.

Surely, somewhere, it was also illegal to make the cook clean.

By now, Aqua had noticed the presence of Terra in her domain, perking up and smiling. This was her chance to smooth over any lingering resentment over the last couple of days. The bluenette began to prepare a plate for Terra to consume, loading on bacon, sausage, a couple fat biscuits, hash browns with bell peppers, onions, and seasoning. Some scrambled eggs with cheese, milk, and season mixed in completed the large pallet of food for Terra to enjoy.

The steaming plate was placed onto the breakfast bar, along with a glass of orange juice, Terra's eyes widening as Aqua leaned onto the bar, going, "Well, breakfast is served, Terra. I hope you enjoy it!"

Terra smirked at her, glad to see she was in better spirits today. That was always good for his long term plans. Moving to take a seat, the brunette replied, "Well, this was created by you, so I really doubt it tastes bad. If anything, I expect excellence in your cooking."

"Well, it's something I really love to do. I'm just glad that I can pass on the good vibe to others." Aqua leaned her chin into her palm as she watched Terra begin to devour the food present on his plate. She could rightfully assume that the sound of a fork hitting the plate and food disappearing rapidly was Terra's way of telling her that her food was amazing.

' _Ok, Aqua. It's just you and him. Alone. And you're watching him stuff his face…his handsome face, but…'_ Aqua thought before she felt her face heat up. This wasn't the time to start blushing and turn into a shy wreck like last time. Clearing her throat in order to get Terra's attention, something that proved to be success when Terra paused in his eating to look at her, Aqua stood up to her full height. She opened her mouth to speak, but it snapped shut again when she couldn't get her vocal cords to function.

Terra was patient once however, knowing she would speak eventually.

"Terra, I'm really sorry about the last couple of days. I haven't meant to be snappy or at your throat," Aqua explained, trying to ease herself into this carefully. Aqua did her best to plan her moves, thinking in detail of all possible outcomes with her words. She had to make sure she only created positive results here; nothing negative could be born here. "Just because I was in a bad mood didn't give me the excuse to take it out on you or anyone else."

' _A bad mood born because you hurt me without even realizing it,'_ Aqua thought drily as she waited for Terra to either accept her apology or reject it completely, followed by a chastising she definitely deserved.

Terra was well aware of why she had been so pissed off at him, but he didn't dare let her know he knew. The shroud of secrecy was how he was going to blown her mind, after all. He wanted to tell her that he understood why she had been so upset and hurt; it hurt him to not tell her, closing the door on their normally very open door relationship.

"It's alright, Aqua. At least I know pissing you off before Magic Day is a fool's errand," Terra jokingly replied to Aqua, prompting her to start laughing. As she laughed, Terra smiled in response. He loved to listen to the musical chimes that were Aqua's laugh. It was free of anything that weight it down, so light and happy that it brightened Terra's day even when he was hating the world.

Chuckling, Aqua commented, "Well, that's true. Magic Day is my _favorite_ day."

"You're so shameless about your obsession with magic."

Aqua stuck her tongue out at Terra playfully, making him chuckle at Aqua's childish action. Terra had some long arms; long enough he was able to reach out and snatch her tongue between his index finger and thumb, making her blink in shock and stare right at him.

Both of them stared into one another's eyes from the now strange position they found themselves in. Aqua's pink tongue was wet and warm between Terra's digits, hot breath passing gently over Terra's skin. Terra felt a shiver rush up his spine as Aqua dared to try and pull her tongue back into her mouth, only for Terra's fingers to press into her silky plush lips.

Terra pulled his hand away like he had burnt it. Coughing a bit, he looking away from the bluenette, who could taste a mixture of food and salt on her tongue from Terra's hand. She had never expected Terra's fingers to be so soft or maybe that was because they had been on her tongue.

' _What the Hell is wrong with me I have Aqua's saliva on my fingers what was I thinking!?'_ came the mashed together thoughts that rambled through Terra's mind. Worse, he could definitely see something much more intimate going into Aqua's mouth, which was _not_ a feeling he needed to have right now.

Oh, if he could only see Aqua's thoughts right now, he'd realize she was just as dirty minded as he.

"Hey, Aqua, thanks for breakfast, it was realllllly good, I'mma gonna go, buh-bye!" Terra rambled on as he quickly pushed back his seat and got up, rushing to the exit in a hurry. He didn't need Aqua to see the bulge forming in his pants. That was the very last thing he needed to do to humiliate himself.

"W-Wait, Terra…!" Aqua called out, trying to keep him from leaving. Sure, she was a bit uneasy, but that didn't mean she wanted him to leave! And she was a little…aroused, but she also didn't want him to leave her here alone again!

"I'll get the dishes after everyone eats, so don't cha worry, gonna get 'em, but gotta go!" Terra yelled back, rushing out the exit as Aqua rounded the corner of the kitchen bar, reaching out to him. Seeing that he was gone and _not_ coming back, Aqua let out a mixture between a growl and scream.

' _B-but…I really didn't_ _ **mind**_ _the idea of sucking his fingers…oh, ok, now I'm making myself worse. Stupid perverted Aqua…!'_ she thought in frustration, covering her face with both her hands as her cheek became as red as the evening sun.

Chalk up another awkward moment for Aqua.

Meanwhile, Terra was panting from the dead sprint he had done to make it to the gardens. He hadn't stopped until he was certain that Aqua wasn't giving chase and that he had placed enough distance between himself and the source of his frisky thoughts.

That had been way too close. Between the jumpscares and close calls, Terra figured he was going to be due for grey hair any day now. He needed to get his mind off of Aqua and her lips right now or he might lose his self-control and head right back to the kitchen to do something extremely irrational.

Running his left hand through his spiky hair, Terra looked around the garden for the flowers he was seeking. They were easy to locate, as the white roses where some of the prettiest flowers in this garden. They glistened with morning dew as the sun began its daily journey across the sky, swaying back and forth in the gentle wind currents.

Moving to the flowers, Terra looked around the stones boxes that contained the many species of flowers. The gardens were well equipped with items for the care of plants, so it didn't take Terra much time to locate the metal box that held tools and supplies, painted the same dusty stone tone as the rest of the courtyard. Opening it, he pulled out a set of clippers, perfect for nipping the buds of flowers.

' _Ok, I'll just take a couple so it's not obvious a bunch of flowers are missing. Of course, that means I'll have to be careful and not waste 'em with fuck ups,'_ Terra thought as he began to select with buds he was going to take. He looked for the healthiest ones this time, versus the ones that where starting to lose their petals. Finding pair that was full and lively, Terra carefully snipped them off, cradling them in his palm gently, one at a time. Setting them on the ledge of the stone box, Terra put up his clippers before cupping the buds in his hands once again.

Treating them as if they were the most fragile item on the planet, Terra ascended the stairs back to the castle. The entire return trip was peaceful and quiet, as no one spotted him or bothered him.

Once he was back in his room, after unlocking his door with his Keyblade, Terra laid the buds on his wooden desk, across from his Queen sized bed. Letting out a breath, Terra pulled out the wooden chair, which scraped across the floors below. Settling down, the male began to also equally delicate task of removing the petals from the buds, taking care not to damage a single one of them.

Soon, he had two piles of smooth, soft petals. Looking at them, a smile came across his face. Honestly, he surprised himself with how gentle his touch could be, considering his association with rocks and boulders.

His smile disappeared, however, knowing the next most dangerous task was coming. He had to use his magic to make many, many more flower petals.

This was going to be good.

* * *

With armored shoes tapping against stone floors, Aqua prowled towards Terra's room in the hopes he would be there. She had to once again try and smooth over things between them, but this time it was for something that was awkward. She had never felt so strange for having to apologize for nearly pulling Terra's fingers into her mouth.

"These last few days have just been so…strange," Aqua murmured as she rounds the corner of the hall Terra's room was in. Aqua had always been roomed in a separate hall from Terra, long before Ventus had arrived into the picture. Originally, it was because the two of them butted heads with one another and were fierce rivals.

Now, Aqua hated the distance.

Before she had any more time to think about her apology or about the past, there was a muffled bang that originated from Terra's room, along with a string of unsavory curses that surely came from the male in question.

Terra and explosions? Not a good combination.

Aqua bolted to Terra's door, hearing a sputtering string of coughs from within Terra's room. Smoke curled out from the edges of the wooden door that made Aqua nearly gag. Why did she almost gag? Because the bluenette was hyper sensitive to magic, so when she inhaled smoke that was overly rich with magic, she felt like she was going to throw up all her insides.

"Terra!? Are you ok?! Open up this door or I am coming in!" Aqua yelled between fits of coughing, summoning Stormfall in her right hand with a flash of petals and light, ready to force Terra's door open. He could be hurt in there! She didn't even want to think of what she might see if she was forced to smash down Terra's door. Imagines of Terra missing part of an arm or bleeding to death on his floor raced through her mind like a slide show, adding to Aqua's worry.

The worry increased twenty fold when Terra didn't respond.

"Terra!?" Aqua screamed this time, her right arm shaking because she was gripping her Keyblade so tightly.

Aqua was seconds from using her Keyblade to completely obliterate the wooden barricade between her and Terra when the doorknob jiggled, followed by the door creaking open a tiny bit. A few white— _were those petals?_ —things floated out the crack Terra had made by opening his door, a single cobalt eye staring at Aqua. Aqua stared back, blinking a few times. Her worry blended with confusion as she tried to process what in the world was going on.

"…Terra. What is going on?"

"Nothing."

Aqua narrowed her eyes. She didn't like this one bit; he was clearly trying to hide something. She relaxed a bit, despite still feeling the extreme urge to force her way into his room, stating, "That explosion and the smoke doesn't equal nothing, Terra." She glanced down at the floor, seeing the rose petals. Arching her right eyebrow, she gestured at the objects with Stormfall, asking, "What are you doing with those?"

Terra's mind ran a mile a minute to try and wriggle his way out of this mess. Aqua looked ready to bash the door down and come inside, which would absolute ruin everything! Quickly, he stuttered out easily the worse lie of them all.

"Those are from my p-pet flying…fish. Feathers, y-ya know? He got loose, so I had to catch him."

Aqua deadpanned at this, all worry evaporating from her being. Feathers? Really? Did Terra _honestly_ expect her to buy such a horrible lie? "A flying fish. _Riiiight._ And the explosion?"

"A Firaga."

"…to catch a _fish."_

"He pissed me off."

"You know what?" came the exasperate response from Aqua as her Keyblade disappeared, the woman tossing her hands up into air. "Have fun catching your fish Terra. I expect to see him on a dinner plate tonight if you use Firagas to catch animals alive."

Despite knowing he was lying to her, Aqua turned and left, going, "That wassss weird, but whatever. I'm not losing my mind over…a flying fish."

Terra knew she hadn't bought his lie, but he had never been so happy to fluster Aqua to the point she left him alone as he was right now.

* * *

 _ **FEBURARY 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, THE DAY**_

By now, Aqua was positive she had her entire ceiling memorized. She had been lying on her comfy bed for much longer than she normally did when she woke up in the morning, but she just didn't have the urge to get out of bed. She was quite comfortable in her loose fitting t-shirt, without her bra constricting her assets, in a pair of blue bikini style panties. Her arms ran lazily over the grey comforter as she adjusted the position of her head on the firm pillow. Here, she was safe from the confusion that had been Terra the last few days.

But she knew was going to have to get up eventually. Lazy streak aside, Aqua was never one to stay in bed all day. It drove her completely out of her mind to do that, even though Ventus and Terra could do something like that. How her boys handled being bums on a Sunday confused her immensely. Especially the energetic Ventus, who never seemed to sit still.

Sitting up, Aqua stretched her arms over her head, feeling her elbows and sockets pop as her muscles began to be commanded to make Aqua move. Yawning a bit, Aqua let her arms flop down before she slipped out of bed and over to her bathroom. Today was Valentine's Day, so as Aqua busied herself with getting ready, she elected to put on some perfume to give herself an extra flair today.

One way or other, she was going to tell Terra how she felt about him. She had flopped on the last attempts epically; this time, no matter what, she was going to make sure that her feelings were known!

Eventually, Aqua was dressed in her normal attire, inspecting herself in a full body mirror. Everything looked just right, including the girls, so Aqua nodded and headed to her door. Opening it and stepping into the hallway, Aqua could feel the warm sunlight from the huge stain glass window to her left crash over her. Today was looking like a beautiful day, which tickled Aqua's fancy.

However, before she could depart, Aqua caught something on her door from the corner of her eye. Turning to inspect the object, she was quite surprised to see a small brass key taped to her door. Tied to the eyelet on the key was a string that was then knotted to a note.

The note itself was made out of clippings from newspapers, clearing in an attempt to hiding whom it had come from. Aqua could recognize anyone's writing around here, after all.

Smiling, she plucked the note off her door, rightly assuming it was a note for Valentine's Day. Holding it in her right hands, Aqua read the note. What it said brightened her day.

 _Roses are red, violets are blue, but there is no blue prettier than you._

Aqua couldn't help but to find the note quite sweet, even if it was a playful jab at her natural blue hair color. She elected to keep the note so she could find whoever had actually made it and thank them for it. Aqua had no clue, however, that this note was the beginning of something _much_ bigger.

Aqua's stomach rumbled a bit now, alerting her to the need for food. She flushed a bit before heading down the hallway, feeling like she would create a batch of donuts today for everyone to feast one. Of course, they would be heart shaped and cream filled, her specialty on Valentine's Day.

"I hope the boys are hungry today," Aqua said jokingly as she smiled, her Valentine's Day note in her right hand as she took a leisurely pace to the kitchen. There was really no reason to rush around today, after all!

As she entered the kitchen, she noticed immediately another note. This one was in the open like the last, but it was in the shape of a red heart, attached to a familiar brass colored key. Walking over to it, Aqua noticed her name on the back of the heart.

' _Another?'_ Aqua thought curiously as she picked up the heart, flipping it over as the key slid along the counter top, making a faint metallic ringing noise. Once again, the note had a sweet saying on it that warmed her heart and brought another smile to her face.

 _As the sun gives warmth, so do you warm my heart._

Aqua's heart fluttered a bit at this. This note was more intimate than the last, making Aqua feel like there was something going on around the castle she wasn't fully aware off. She looked around the kitchen, waiting to see if any popped out to greet her.

Nothing happened, much to Aqua's relief and disappointment. However, she didn't let this hold her back very much, not wanting to feel bad on a day like Valentine's Day. The blue haired mage placed both of her notes on the kitchen bar, wishing she knew who they come from so she could thank them.

Honestly, she hadn't expected two cards in such quick succession.

Moving to the cabinet that contained her favorite mixing pull, Aqua was about to receive another surprise. As she reached into the cabinet and pulled the glass bowl out, Aqua noticed something was inside of the bowl that didn't belong there.

Aqua pause mid-pull as her face scrunched up in both amusement and confusion. Ok, now she was sure something was going on.

Placing the bowl down on the counter top, Aqua peeked inside of it. In the bottom of the bowl, there was another key, a note, and a small box that neatly fit into the base of the bowl. It was wrapped with white paper, with the key and the note tapped to the box itself. Pulling out the box, Aqua read the note on the box.

Once again, the words on the paper took another leap in intimacy, enough that Aqua blushed.

 _They say people in love can be foolish. Well, I don't mind being a fool for you forever!_

"Oh dear," Aqua said simply as she sat down the box and note, carefully peeling apart the wrapping to reveal what was inside. Much to Aqua's delight, as she unwrapped her gift, there was a box of milk chocolate truffles.

Aqua really, really loved truffles. Making donuts was going to have to wait a bit as Aqua placed the box top off to the side, grabbing a single truffle and bringing it to her lips. Popping it into her mouth, Aqua shivered as there was a variable explosion of taste within her mouth.

Did Aqua forget to mention she really loved truffles?

As Aqua demolished her truffles one after another, she began to think about who was doing this. Could it be possible that her wildest dreams where coming true? Aqua was quick to shake her head, however. There was no reason or evidence to jump to conclusions.

After her truffles where gone, much to Aqua's disappointment, she went back to making donuts, but her heart fluttered every time she looked at those notes, meant for her reading pleasure alone.

* * *

 _ **Later That Day…**_

After successfully creating her cream filled, heart shaped donuts with chocolate frosting on them, Aqua was starting to get a bit suspicious. She hadn't seen Terra, Ventus, or Master Eraqus all day. And while this castle was big, it seemed improbable they could become so stealthy and remain hidden from her a good half the day.

She had searched for them enough for now. Dejected, Aqua had returned to her room, wondering what sort of jacked up plan was going on around here. If it was 'Mess With Aqua,' then it was succeeding admirably.

Much to her shock, when she opened the door to her room, there was something amiss. There was something on her bed that hadn't been there this morning.

Sitting on the crisply made bed was a pink colored dress that stood out under the sunlight and the color of her comforter. In the center of the pink scoop neck with a high low bottom was another key and note. Aqua bit at her lower lip as she approached the dress as if it was dangerous.

She just couldn't believe what she was seeing, really. Somebody had taken a lot of time and effort to put this together for her.

Running her hand over the smooth, silky material, Aqua began to read the note. This one was more than enough to make her groan, but this time, it made her squeeze her thighs together. She could easily cut Ventus out of the picture as the culprits, because this note was far too mature for him.

 _When you walk past, you make my heart race. You are the sexiest woman I know, whose body is the temple of a Goddess. This dress please wear tonight so I may hold you in my arms tonight._

"Ok, this…this is starting to get out of hand," Aqua whispered lowly as she shakily ran her hand through her hair. Someone really liked her a lot and, honestly, Aqua couldn't hide the fact she really was enjoying this game. She was enjoying these feelings of desire, happiness, and joy that she was currently riding.

Taking the dress off of her bed and over to her full body mirror in order to see how the dress looked on her frame, Aqua was greeted by another note. Blinking, Aqua moved over to the mirror and inspected the note. Once again Aqua's heart fluttered, but her stomach also did several flips. This note was a totally different beast all together. Unlike all that had come before it, this one was not made out of newspaper.

It was hand written. In hand writing she knew.

Tears dotted her eyes as she read the note, which blurred her vision.

 _You came into my life when all was dark, but you gave me light and I found my way. Come to the mountain when the clock strikes nine. Follow the light to the stars that shine._

No way in Hell was she going to miss this appointed time.

* * *

 _ **At The Time When The Clock Strikes Nine…**_

Aqua had checked, doubled checked, and triple checked herself. She had taken another shower, put on some lip-gloss, painted her nails with a French manicure. She had put on the dress with all the care that one could give a piece of clothing, that way she didn't tear the material at all or get any stains on it. With this dress, she wore a simple set of brown gladiators.

A bit of perfume, not too much or too light as the final touch.

Aqua inspected herself in the full body mirror, praying the way she looked was good enough for her admirer. She hoped her features stood out without standing out too much and making her look slutty. She tugged a bit at her top, making her bust shift slightly as a result.

She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath.

It was now or never. She couldn't wait any longer.

Master Eraqus was right. She would much rather live knowing rather than wondering. She wasn't the kind of girl who got thrills off of wondering.

The trip to the mountain training grounds began easy enough. Walking to the moonlit flower gardens was peaceful and served to steady Aqua for whatever was coming next. She ran her hands through some of the moist flowers, enjoying the textures of feels under her fingertips.

The moment she departed the castle courtyard and entered the lower training grounds, Aqua's felt her eyes nearly come out of her head in awe at what she was seeing. Wonderment flowed into her veins and made her place a hand over her thundering heart.

Whoever had done this all for her was really doing their best to completely steal her heart.

The path that led to the upper training grounds was covered with the petals of white roses, thousands of them for sure. So completely covered the path that it was like snow had covered just the stones that led up to the upper training grounds, a favorite star gazing spot of Aqua. Further more, all the lanterns had been replaced with new candles, each of which burned a different color. Red, yellow, purple, green, blue, and so many other colors sought to grab Aqua's attention and keep it.

However, Aqua followed the rose covered path instead of standing here for too very long and drinking in all of the sights, smells, and senses. She had someone who wanted to meet her and she desperately wanted to meet him.

Moving forward and up, Aqua was soon at the final entrance before the end. Walking up the narrow pathway that would take her down to her destination, Aqua was eventually greeted by a sight that made her come to a complete halt.

The white roses had taken her to the top of the world in a very literal sense.

Under the starry sky was Terra.

He was smiling softly as she stood at the ledge Aqua always used as a perch to watch the stars, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. He wore a pair of black slacks with polished dress shoes, along with a pink tie and a white button up shirt. In his right hand was a single trimmed red rose, full and blooming in a manner that seemed to symbolize something.

Aqua felt emotional overload coming. She started to walk towards Terra, somehow keeping a calm expression on her face, a smile indicating the feelings swirling in her chest. As she walked, both her and Terra drank in the sight of one another. Terra watched how her hips swayed, while Aqua enjoyed the sighed of that broad chest under form fitting clothing.

Aqua's feet had carried her to before Terra, stopping just a few inches away from him.

Terra spoke first.

"Did you know that the white rose symbolizes purity while red symbolizes love?"

Aqua merely nodded at this.

Continuing to spoke to Aqua, Terra moved closer in order to run his hand through Aqua's hair, daring this motion. Aqua did nothing to stop him, her and his heart fluttering.

"And that Keyblade bearers who love someone give their lover Saint Valentine's Keys as a gesture to unlock one's heart?"

Now it was Aqua's turn to dare and speak, pressing herself into Terra as she replied, "I do, Terra." She tilted her head back for Terra as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. His smile only served to make her shiver in delight.

"Then I really only have three words I want to say to you."

Each word was then punctuated by a motion from here on out, starting with Terra leaning close to those delicious lips, a husky tone causing Aqua to unintentionally moan in his arms.

"I…"

Aqua felt her arms go around Terra's body while his hands moved to stop right above her backside, although if he rested his hand on more sensual part of her body, she would have let him do it.

"Love…"

Terra's lips brush Aqua's moments before he completed his sentence and his final action.

"You."

Aqua couldn't take it anymore. She quickly and aggressively seized Terra's lips with her own, moaning pleasurably into his mouth as the two young adults kissed one another passionately. Her right hand moved to the side of his hand, stroking his hair while his hands moved up and down her back slowly, gently.

All the confusion, all the hurt, all the frustration, all the need to know what had been going on had finally been sated by all this effort Terra had put forth for her. They both knew that without a doubt what their feelings had evolved into. There was no shroud. There was no questioning it.

Love.

Aqua finally had the answer she craved.


End file.
